The Column Racer by Jeffrey Johnson (Volume 1)

For fourteen-year-old Areli Roberts, her dreamy new school isn’t really a dream come true. There is already a blade being sharpened to promptly execute her if she doesn’t perform in the racing coliseum as she is expected, she constantly feels the bite of animosity from her new teammates, and no matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to clean away the growing amount of blood on her hands.

Areli is a dragon rider, and one of the newest recruits to a school with the most prestigious and talented column racing team in the Empire, which carries an impeccable winning tradition. Outside the mountain walls of the valley where she now lives, there is a brutal manhunt for Degendhard the Great, someone who threatens the Emperor’s rule. When Areli’s not racing or training, she is spending her time with her best friend Fides or falling deeper in love with her new boyfriend Yats. But after an altercation with the Emperor’s niece and later acquiring a deadly secret about Degendhard the Great, Areli is plunged into a different kind of race. One in which not only her life is at stake, but also the lives of everyone she loves.

The Column Racer, is an adventure of love, loss, pain, and sacrifices. It is the first in the series that delves into the world of Areli Roberts and the events that change her for the better . . . and for the worse.

Jeffrey Johnson is a graduate of UW-River Falls and currently lives in Rochester, MN. His soulmate, Ali, urged him to take up writing seriously after he wrote her dozens of love letters. With her encouragement, love, and support, he found a passion he never knew he had.

Unrated Critic Reviews for The Column Racer

Kirkus Reviews

(The psychopathic emperor makes for an excellent villain, first appearing shirtless in a blue trench coat, exuding the perfect combination of lechery and violent mania.) Areli’s father takes in Talon, one of Degendhard’s messengers who is badly injured.